Tag Archives: oceania

Kangaroo swims through flooded yard as rain creates 'bathtub'

A kangaroo has been spotted swimming through a flooded backyard in Sydney's west.

The video, which was taken by a resident in Emu Heights near Penrith, shows the roo fully submerged as streets were turned to rivers after days of record-breaking rain.

Wildlife rescue services have urged people to contact WIRES if they see animals injured due to flooding.

LIVE UPDATES: Fears more could be evacuated in NSW floods

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Emergency services have issued a series of evacuation warnings for suburbs surrounding the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers which remain of greatest concern to authorities.

More than 50,000 people could potentially be impacted with the severe weather conditions forecast to persist today.

READ MORE: Thousands could be evacuated as Sydney braces for record-breaking flood

"While there is some easing in the rainfall today, it is the rainfall that is going to fall in the catchments that extend from the great dividing range, from the Hawksbury area, Blue Mountains, right down and out towards Goulburn," Head of Resilience NSW Shane Fitzsimmons told Today.

"Rain that falls in those areas ultimately feeds into what we call the bathtub effect of water coming into the Hawksbury-Nepean."

READ MORE: Full list of NSW schools and roads closed as flood waters rise

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READ MORE: Everything you need to know about NSW flood financial support

NSW river 'set to burst banks any minute'

Large parts of the NSW Mid North Coast remain submerged as authorities warned overnight floodwaters were yet to peak.

People in Kempsey were woken just before midnight to be told by the SES to evacuate immediately.

"The Macleay River expected to burst banks any minute. Very nervous time for businesses and residents here," 9News Grace Fitzgibbon said.

READ MORE: Thousands in Sydney brace for record-breaking flood

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Hundreds already forced to flee their homes face a long wait before they can take stock of any damage, with NSW SES warning some rivers across the region will not reach their peaks until today.

Whole communities are temporarily homeless after evacuating their residences in the past 24 hours, with hundreds of people taking shelter just in the Laurieton United Services Club in Port Macquarie alone.

On the outskirts of Taree, Fire and Rescue crews carried diver flippers and used Surf Life Saving rubber duckies to move from property to property, trying to reach people who had become isolated or trapped.

READ MORE: Evacuations ordered in Greater Sydney

READ MORE: Flood operations being planned 'well past Easter'

There were more than 131 flood rescues, including a group of people plucked by a helicopter winch from a house that is now an island.

Since the start of the weather event until about 10pm last night, the NSW SES received 8364 requests for assistance, 751 of those being flood rescues.

In the past 24 hours, there have been 2743 requests for assistance, with 197 flood rescues.

In the small town of Kendall, north of Taree, café owner Jenelle Nosworthy has seen her business ruined, with the windows of Miss Nellie's Café pushed violently aside by the rushing waters.

"It's beyond devastating but I just can't comprehend it at the moment, I can't take it in," she told 9News.

Homeowner and retiree Pamela has seen her recent renovations ruined as well.

READ MORE: Floods, landslides see roads closed across NSW

"We've still got each other, it's only stuff," she said.

"It can be replaced."

Farmers have resorted to desperate measures to keep their stock alive, one even taking to a kayak to hold their animals' heads above water.

READ MORE: More NSW communities cut off

Volunteers have even begun freighting feed by boat to properties with stranded livestock.

"The farmer was quite concerned, so we're dropping some food off for the cattle," NSW SES volunteer Jack Frost said.